Unity Farm Journal - Second Week of July 2014

I returned from Japan to find that 9 baby guineas (keets) raised by ducks had hatched.   We have one adult white guinea and its genetics seem recessive - of the 100+ keets we’ve hatched there have been no whites.   In this batch, we finally got a white.   Since our one adult white is sitting on a batch of 40 eggs, it’s possible that more whites are on the way.   During the Summer, our guineas build nests and spend the night outside the coop.    At the moment we have 21 guineas roosting in the coop, six sitting on nests, four babies in the mini-coop, and nine in the brooder (pictured below)

Luckily no baby alpaca (cria) arrived during my travels.   I really want to be present to attend their births.   I have just a few days of travel left this Summer.  Let’s hope the alpaca do not pick a travel day!

The hoop house continues to produce an immense amounts of vegetables.    This week we harvested cucumbers which we’ll making in our sweet Unity pickles.

Many flowers are blossoming in the heat of summer, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies, like this painted lady.

The bee hives are continuing to grow during the peak of nectar flow.   We've spun 18 frames of honey and this weekend we hope to spin 9 more.

The animals are thriving, the apples are beginning to fruit, and the meadows are exploding with color.  Even the tree frogs are dropping by for a visit.